Monday, November 24, 2014

This post is sponsored by Tiny Prints. Thanks for supporting this partnership! All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

With the holidays fast approaching, it's time to get started on your holiday gift list. With a little time off and a chance to get out with the family, I like to get a start on my holiday shopping around Thanksgiving. This year I wanted to give my friends and family gifts that were not only useful, but also thoughtful and really personalized. Custom gifts have standout sentiment for any occasion and taking the time to create special personalized designs not only feels good, but looks good too! To inspire your gift giving this season, I pulled together 4 of my favorite custom gift ideas perfect for family and friends. All useful, stylish, and thoughtful, everyone will be enjoying these throughout the year!

My first favorite custom gift to give and receive is personalized stationary. I found the beautiful note cards above at Tiny Prints, and added some colorful card stock, pencils and ribbon to complete the set.

If there is one thing everyone can use this time of year, it's Thank You cards. I wanted to put a different spin on the standard thank you and found these personalized state greetings postcards. Each card can be customised with a different state and icons of your choice. I of course chose California, and added the heart over the Bay Area, along with our name. Add in some matching pencils and a few cute gift wrap items and you've got the perfect gift!

Notebooks make a great gift, especially for the busy family. This gift idea was inspired by my friends who like to spend their time on the kitchen. Notebooks can be particularly handy in the kitchen, for collecting recipes, writing down ingredients, taking cooking notes, and making grocery lists. I customized this colorful notebook with the new year and added some card stock envelopes and recipe cards that can be taped to the inside pages to hold notes and clippings. Two beautiful pencils and a few jingle bells later, and your gift is ready to wow!

One of the best parts of the holiday season is parties! Bringing a personalized gift to the host or hostess makes an especially thoughtful gift. Consider forgoing the standard bottle of wine or candle this year and opt for a custom notepad and ornament. I added the host's last name to the notepad above and chose a favorite location as the custom ornament. Remember, not all custom gifts need to be personalized with a family photo or name. Sometimes a shared joke or favorite quote makes a custom gift extra special.

However you choose to celebrate this season, I wish you a wonderful week and a Thanksgiving filled with love and gratitude. And may you find time for just a little shopping :)

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

This post is sponsored by Wayfair. Thanks for supporting this partnership! All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

When we moved to our new home a few months ago, like most busy new homeowners, we were overwhelmed with all of the musts. Like putting in a working stove, and updating the electric. You know the little things that you need to get through the day! Six months in and we are still hard at work with the renovation, but things are slowly starting to turn toward the details. This past weekend I finally had the time to do a little rehab on a prefab mushroom light in our hallway.

As you can see above, our hallway is a unique space. Part library, part major artery, it's been necessary to keep things minimal and simple. We painted the entire home Benjamin Moore Decorator's White, and this decision was a game changer in the hallway. You would think a flat finish, bright white paint would be the kryptonite to a house with a working studio, toddler and dog, but a quick run through with a magic eraser and things look brand new. The lighting fixture in the hallway was one of those prefab mushroom lights that you often find in recently purchased homes, and rightly so. They are affordable, simple, and work well for painting, redecorating and construction. In short, they are no frills and work just fine in the interim.

To replace the light, I wanted to keep with the library theme and also give a nod to the ceiling fans in both my studio and our bedroom, which have old fashioned school house globes. I found this great fixture on Wayfair, that is a near match to the shape and style of our ceiling fan fixtures. I loved it immediately and like how it keeps with the Nordic and modern feel of our home while including a vintage vibe.

Next on my list is to find a nice little lamp to place on the open shelf in the hallway. We often play puzzles and read in this cozy little corner and a lamp would be a welcome addition. I'm considering a few below, what do you think?

To celebrate one small corner of the homestead being nearly complete, Wayfair is generously offering Zelma Rose readers 15% off all lamps from November 6 - 10! Get your prefab rehab game on with the coupon code below!

About Me

Zelma Rose is known for our wanderlust inspired goods in prints and patterns that evoke our deep love of nature. Entirely handcrafted from needlework artist Lisa Anderson Shaffer's original patterns, each premium Zelma Rose design is made to order in our mountainside studio right here in Fairfax, California.